Old97s.com

Jupiter Coyote, Bonepony, Hank 3, Great Big Sea, Scott Miller, Reckless Kelly....the common thread is that these bands are all great live and it's all about the music, no pretense. Just heard The John D. Hale Band for the first time and they seem like they fit this mold as well. I'm always looking for these kind of bands so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

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"He's the Charlie Daniels of the torch wrench"

I'm listening to a lot of John Hiatt right now, and I've really been into this band from Atlanta called [golden], you can check them out at www.goldentheband.com

Of course, my musical library contains a liberal amount of Pink Floyd.

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My land I'll defend with my life if it be, 'cause my pastures of plenty must always be free.
--Woody Guthrie

Golden sounds pretty good....kind of chill....a little Jack Jonhsonish at times.

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"He's the Charlie Daniels of the torch wrench"

Some of my favorites besides Old 97's:  Dwight Yoakam, Iron Maiden, The Cult, The Cars, Johnny Winter, Tom Petty, Judas Priest, Fred Eaglesmith, Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Derailers, The Steeldrivers, Chris LeDoux, ZZ Top.

Definitely the Jayhawks, but only Rainy Day Music.  One of my favorite albums--loud guitars and beautiful harmony--but their other stuff seems lackluster.

Ryan Adams, of course.  He's tried a lot of different styles, so pick carefully.  Some albums:  Heartbreaker is excellent acoustic folk/country, Gold is some good pop (though it's a bit too long), and Jacksonville City Nights is Nashville country.

Can't miss Gram Parsons. 

A few more:  The Louvin Brothers.  Ralph Stanley.  Jason Eady & The Wayward Apostles.  Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning.  Josh Ritter, The Historical Conquests of ... 

These are mostly country/alt-country/folk, the notable exceptions being Ralph Stanley (bluegrass) and Josh Ritter (country-flavoured indie-pop).  Other genres are a different question.  Not that genre means too much. 

I also leave out the obvious older ones:  the Carter Family, Johnny Cash (the American recordings!), Patsy Cline, Willie, etc, etc.

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Murry told me truly 'bout a girl who's a-moving on.

You people have some good taste.

 

And big props to whomever said the Mountain Goats.

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I hope you crash your momma's car.

Yeah, I met those guys, [golden] at Bonnaroo. They were quite friendly and talented. I hope they catch a break. I hear a new album is coming soon.

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My land I'll defend with my life if it be, 'cause my pastures of plenty must always be free.
--Woody Guthrie

The Wilders, Sonvolt, The Felice Brothers, The Avett Brothers and Railroad Earth all provide excellent listening for different moods.

I am going to date myself, but early REM is remarkable--especially Reckoning, Murmur, Life's Rich Pageant, Fables of the Reconstruction among all their others.  More contemporarily I love the Kings of Leon and My Morning Jacket.  A great place to explore is pandora.com.  It will ask you for an artist you like, and then feed you more artists with similar style, tempo, tone, etc...  I also liked I Love Math who are opening for the Old 97s currently; they were pretty cool.

hmmm.... I like a lot of random stuff: Tom Waits, Eels, Wolf Parade, Aimee Mann, Beck, Cake, Wilco, The Meat Purveyors, Feist, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse, Lily Allen, Weezer, and Amy Winehouse among many others, but Old 97's is my absolute favorite.

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I'll stomp a mud hole in your heart

I like most of the bands mentioned previously, but there is one I have not seen mentioned yet. Calexico, from Tucson, AZ, I believe. They are one of the few bands (besides the 97's) that are a must see live whenever and wherever I can.

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It's not a headache. It's like wearing a cement hat.

Cool, another eels/97's fan.

 

I like Calexico too, and Giant Sand/Howe Gelb was a ton of fun to see live. 

My taste ranges from Pearl Jam to Jewel.  In between is Barenaked Ladies, Cowboy Mouth, Matchbox 20, Hootie, The Fratellis, 90's grunge/rock bands, Dandy Warhols, Darren Hayes, Mika.  And, thanks to my parents, The Who, Meatloaf, Fleetwood Mac, and CIndy Lauper.
 

Thanks to the OP for starting a great thread and the responders who made an eclectic collection of other good music. My suggestions will start with music somewhat endorsed by the Old 97's since these acts have opened for either an Old 97's show or a solo Rhett gig:

 Ari Shine: I like his albums 'A Force of One' and 'Age/Occupation' If you want to test one song out (with a 99cent download from iTunes or something), try 'Cooler Than Me'.

Jenneifer O'Connor: The album 'Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars' has some great lyrics, especially 'Exeter, Rhode Island' and 'Complicated Rhyme'

Tom Clark and the High Action Boys: The songs 'Caught Blondhanded' and 'New Toothbrush On Your Sink' stand out from their album 'Cross-Eyed and Bow-Legged'. You can listen to them here: http://tomclarkandthehighactionboys.com/music.html

 

The Decemberists latest album is interesting. In my opinion, the lyrical peer of the Old 97's for Blues music is Jeffrey Foucault. Friends who don't like the Blues in general still like him. His most recent album 'Ghost Repeater' is absolutely amazing. The song '4 and 20 Blackbrids' from Stipping Cane is also something you can instantly like. He also does a great live show. Jeff made an album of cover songs with his wife and a friend called "Redbird". I think other REM fans will really enjoy their version of "You Are Everything". 

Finally, for anyone looking for a voice that can knock the wind out of you, I suggest listening to Susan Tedeschi when she sings "It Hurt So Bad"

Limbeck, Drive-By Truckers, Chuck Prophet, REM, Replacements, Smiths, Bob Marley, the Stones, Ryan Adams/Whiskeytown, Wilco, Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo, Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker, The Feelies, The Connells, Vulgar Boatmen,  they are all in heavy rotation at my place.